Lincoln tabs Flanigan as new football coach

LOWER OXFORD – A process that dragged out three months longer than similar searches at two fellow Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association schools finally came to a conclusion with the introduction of Ramon Flanigan as Lincoln’s new head football coach.

School president Robert R. Jennings and athletic director Dianthia Ford-Kee said during a Monday morning press conference that identifying the top candidate from a pool of more than 80 applicants took priority over all else, including any immediate timetable.

“(Flanigan) was impressive from the start,” Ford-Kee added. “I had already interviewed one candidate and after Ramon came in, I believe that he set the bar. I am very impressed with him and am quite sure he is going to be our man.”

A native of Wichita Falls, Tex., the 39-year-old Flanigan will be making his heading coaching debut when the Lions open the 2013 season against archrival Cheyney on Sept. 7. But Flanigan has a wealth of experience as an offensive assistant dating back to 2000 at two Division I programs, and two more seasons at the high school level. He even had two stints as an intern with the National Football League’s Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons.

“This is the place I was meant to be at this point in time,” said Flanigan, who established career records for total offense and touchdowns as the quarterback at Southern Methodist University in the 1990’s.

Flanigan replaces Olabaniji (O.J.) Abanishe, who was fired last winter after going 8-42 in five seasons. Abanishe was hired in 2008 as the first head football coach at LU since the program was discontinued for 48 years in 1960. Lincoln made the transition to NCAA Division II in 2010 and then joined the CIAA.

“I have a lot of respect for O.J.,” Flanigan said. “Being the first (coach of a new program) is very tough. He did a good job of getting a firm foundation for us to build on. I see the remnants of good things that have happened here.”

Abanishe’s staff ran Lincoln’s spring practices, which concluded on April 12th. For CIAA foes Virginia State and Fayetteville State, the situation was much different. Both filled their head coaching vacancies in mid-January, and the new coaching staffs were able to get their new systems implemented for spring workouts. When asked how much catching up the LU program is facing over the next four months, Flannigan said: “a ton.

“I don’t sleep much and not being married, I can dedicate a lot of time to this job because there is a lot of work to be done,” he continued.

“I’m not the kind of guy that says, ‘We came in late, so this year doesn’t count.’ I’ve got 22 seniors that I’ve talked to and this season does count. We expect to win. We will have to work even harder in order to catch up and then we will be ready to go this season.”

According to Ford-Kee, Lincoln did not announce the job opening until early January, and some personal issues conspired to delay the process.

“In February, I had a death in the family and president (Jennings) had to be out of the country,” she explained. “In March, the search committee was able to narrow it down so we could begin the interview process.”

Previously, Flanigan spent his time in football almost exclusively in the south, including eight seasons at the University of North Texas and three more at Mississippi Valley State, most as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

When asked what attracted him to Lincoln, Flanigan mentioned location, facilities, a supportive administration and a growing, vibrant campus.

“That’s why I am willing to go thousands of miles away from my hometown,” he said. “I feel like the things that I need to be successful, I will have here.

“We are in a great location. You talk about an untapped, hidden diamond? We are an hour from three or four major metropolitan areas that are full of talent and Lincoln alums. What more could you ask for?

“And has anybody seen our stadium? Unbelievable.”

A single father of teenage daughters Brianna and Madeline, Flanigan acknowledged on Monday that his supreme confidence is often misconstrued as arrogance.

“That’s because I have a very limited skill set, and those things I do well, I talk about it,” he pointed out.

“We won’t have rules, we’ll have expectations, and I expect Lincoln football players to be awesome in the classroom, in the community and excel on the football field.

“That’s tough to do. But what I tell everybody – and this is where I get that arrogant tag – is that I did it, and that’s how I know that they exist. Those young men are tough to find, but that’s why they pay us a lot of money. We are going to find young men that fit in here.”

Flanigan conceded that his biggest immediate challenge is changing the culture within the LU football program. The Lions have prevailed just three times in 22 outings against CIAA opponents, were 1-9 overall in 2012, and have dropped back-to-back outings to Cheyney.

“Changing a culture is the toughest thing to do,” Flanigan admitted. “As a player, I was at SMU following the (NCAA-sanctioned) death penalty. As a coach at North Texas, there was no football culture and at Mississippi Valley they hadn’t won the championship in 62 years. So I know what I am facing.”

In addition, resources are an issue. During the Abanishe era, Lincoln reportedly offered about 10 scholarship equivalencies, which is far below the Division II maximum of 36, and is at the bottom among programs in the CIAA.

“This is not an institution that has an unbelievable amount of funding and scholarships, but that does not mean we can’t be successful,” Flanigan said. “It means we have to bond together and have a unified effort.

“I’ve been here just over a week and I feel like part of the family, and that doesn’t happen often.”

When asked about his offensive and defensive philosophies, Flanigan said that too often programs are inflexible with the systems they employ.

“We are going to do whatever is in the best interest of our football team,” he said. “And that’s ever changing.”

But Flanigan did add: “No one is going to place higher expectations on myself than I will.

“I played and now I coach with a chip on my shoulder because I love when people tell me I can’t do something.”